Empire: Non Ranker
by Edriss
Summary: We've had evil warlords and long suffering pacifists but now it's time for new type of Yeerk.


**I know! Just another fic I'll have to update:P. **

**Empire:**

**Non Ranker**

**Prologue**

**T**he prisoner ran through the dark underbrush, his hooves kicked up clumps of the muddy, slime-like ground. His pursuers, their bodies' perfectly adapted to the swamp terrain, were gaining quickly. Struggling to pick up his pace Prince Kayless sped out of the hanging trees and onto one of the wide planes that made the forest covered surface of the Sstram homeworld look like a hoober losing clumps of hair in old age.

Even out of the blanket-like forests it was almost impossible to see where one was going. The Sstram homeworld had no moons and was almost pitch black at night. The ground was no less muddy here than in the undergrowth and the Prince soon found himself and stumbling. Through a stalk eye the Prince saw his Sstram-controller pursuers making their way to him with ease.

The Sstram were an oddly bird-like race with four long legs ending in wide webbed feet that spread their weight evenly across the sludge. They had no wings but where they should have been a pair of taloned arms hung, useless for almost anything except holding light objects, unfortunately dracon beams where one of those things. Their heads rose up on an insanely long neck; large golden eyes filled almost half of their faces allowing them to see in the black night. Perhaps the only thing that made the Sstram truly dangerous was the fifty centimetre long beak that could be used as a spear to deadly effects in battle.

They were almost on top of him now. Their small arms raising dracon beams no doubtless set on stun, there was no way the Yeerk filth would throw away a perfectly good Andalite host. Rising his own stolen dracon the Prince fired at one of his pursuers, he fell unable to balance on the mud with only three legs. The wounded controller's partner stopped and stared dumbly at his comrade, Kayless wasting no time continued making his way through the plane.

Suddenly with a yell of mixed fury and excitement the remaining controller launched itself through the air landing with a sickening squelch beside the tired Andalite. Launching out with it's razor sharp beak it struck Kayless in the arm only to find it could now not remove it's beak. The Prince sent his opponent a mocking glare and then struck with his bladed tail severing the controller's head. The first controller moaned from the mud as he saw his comrade fall, then noticing that he was now left defenceless with an armed and angry Andalite he shrunk down onto the ground and attempted to look as dead as possible.

Prince Kayless made his way towards the cowering Yeerk. Opening one of its large eyes to look at the Andalite the Yeerk pleaded, "I surrender! Leave me alone! On your honour…leave me alone! I'm defenceless – really!" Kayless was too tired and angry to care about the pleading Yeerk, but keeping it alive would only mean that it would be found by others of its kind and be able to tell them that their prisoner had escaped. Distracted by his musings and blinded by the night Kayless did not see the group of armed Hork-Bajir and Sstram controllers approaching. The group approached as silently as possible; using the Sstram as guides the Hork-Bajir encircled the Andalite and raised their weapons.

The lead Hork-Bajir nodded to the Sstram at his side. Following that signal the Sstram all opened fire, followed shortly by the Hork-Bajir. Soon the Prince and the wounded Yeerk were surrounded by a cage of red dracon light. Then just as quickly as it had begun the firing stopped leaving one very stunned Andalite and a whimpering Sstram-controller.

The commander of the group, an old Yeerk named Argal 136, Under-Visser 790, steeped forwards laughing. He gave the unconscious Andalite a kick that, had its momentum not been slowed by the fierce amount of energy needed to pull a Hork-Bajir talon out of the mud, would have gutted the Andalite. But all it would do, thanks to the mud, was to leave a bruise that would have the Andalite smarting for days.

Argal towered over the three-legged Sstram, still laughing he said, "Congratulations, Brannis Eight-Seven-Oh-Eight, you have successfully cowered to an Andalite." He then lent down and pulled the muddy controller up.

Brannis laughed at his Under-Visser's joke, "Yes sir, but we did run him right to you." And of that Brannis was pleased, this Andalite was the first he'd ever seen up close and it had very nearly been his last, but as it was he was caked in blood and mud, missing a leg and a good partner but he had helped capture his first Andalite.

_Really,_ Brannis thought to himself as he watched his fellow Yeerks drag the Andalite back to base, _the Andalites aren't that hard to beat. The Vissers must just be lazy._


End file.
